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Discovery Museum
| map_alt = | latitude = 54.969 | longitude = -1.625 | coordinates_type = region:GB_type:landmark | established = | dissolved = | location = Newcastle upon Tyne, England | type = | collection = | visitors = | director = | president = | curator = | owner = | publictransit = | car_park = | network = | website = }} Discovery Museum is a science museum and local history museum situated in Blandford Square in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It displays many exhibits of local history, including Turbinia, the 34 metre long ship built by Charles Algernon Parsons to test the advantages of using the steam turbine to power ships. It also features examples of Joseph Swan's early lightbulbs which were invented on Tyneside. It houses the regimental museum for the 15th/19th The King's Royal Hussars and the Northumberland Hussars, exploring the human side of 200 years of life in the army. It is a "hands-on" museum designed to interest both children and adults. It is one of the biggest free museums in North East England, and in 2006 was winner of the North East's Best Family Experience award at the North East England Tourism Awards. It is managed by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. History Discovery Museum started life in 1934 as the Municipal Museum of Science and Industry. The collections were housed in a temporary pavilion built for the 1929 North East Coast Exhibition in Exhibition Park, Newcastle. This was the first UK science museum outside London. The collections and displays grew for another forty years, until the temporary pavilion could no longer meet the Museum's needs. In 1978, the Museum was re-located to Blandford House, the former Co-operative Wholesale Society Headquarters for the Northern Region. Designed by Oliver, Leeson and Wood, this magnificent 1899 building had been the distribution centre for over 100 Co-op stores across the region, and contained extensive warehouse space and offices. ' in the ground floor entrance area to the refurbished museum]] In 1993 the Museum was re-launched as Discovery Museum. Ongoing refurbishment has brought many new displays in recent years. This includes the spectacular transfer of ''Turbinia, in 1994, from her old home in Exhibition Park through the streets of Newcastle to the new entrance hall at Discovery. In 2004 the £13 million redevelopment of the Museum was complete and the following year the venue attracted 450,000 visitors. Exhibits * Turbinia - Early steam turbine driven yacht * Merryweather steam fire pump * Armstrong Whitworth built pump from the Newcastle swing bridge * Armstrong Whitworth car * Early Swann light bulbs * Exhibition on local social history * Models of Tyneside built boats and ships See also * List of museums in Tyne and Wear * List of museums in Northumberland * List of museums in County Durham References / sources External links *Discovery Museum website *3D Google Earth model of the Discovery Museum Category:Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Tyne and Wear Museums Category:Science museums in England Category:Regimental museums in England Category:Museums in Newcastle upon Tyne Category:Local museums in Tyne and Wear Category:Industry museums in England Category:Fashion museums in the United Kingdom Category:Museums established in 1934 Category:1934 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:1934 foundings Category:Science and technology in Tyne and Wear